The Hacker’s Creed

It’s October—the eighth month of the year. That’s according to the old Roman calendar. But most of the world lives by the Gregorian calendar, making this the tenth month of the year.

How is this? Some linguistic code breaking is required—octo is Latin for eight. Due to historical accident, we are stuck with passing off the “eighth” month for the “tenth.”

What’s more, since 2004, October has been National Cyber Security Awareness Month in the United States.

Unsurprisingly, this issue of The Journal is replete with themes of breaking codes, charting new territory, and encountering new challenges.

Transnational collaboration, risk-taking, and creating new values are also a common thread.

The lead story opens a window onto the life of an American writer and a Japanese architect who re-drew both social and architectural rules and built something new.

Still on the theme of buildings, the real estate market in Japan is brought under scrutiny this month, revealing a microcosm of shifting economic sands that are shaping up in Japan’s favor.

And the same applies to the Internet, as shown by our syndicated content, where Yahoo! JAPAN and Sony are joining forces to shake up the property market online.

Speaking of the Internet, Tech in Asia’s conference in Tokyo brought together founders, investors, and startup entrepreneurs in an extravaganza of Internet Economy pioneers.

As with the explorers of yesteryear, the gold rush risk-takers of the 21st century are hacking their way through thickets of zeros and ones, and clearing new digital paths for a brave new global economy.

With the winds of change and globalization picking up, Japan is taking the necessary steps to increase its competitiveness, as shown by an insider who is cracking the country’s corporate governance code.

Speaking of being fit for purpose, the Internet of Things, unarguably the greatest development since the “industrial revolution,” is set to change the world as we know it.

The perfect complement to the ACCJ Kansai chapter’s report—on its successful Women in business summit—our cover story shows how Japanese entrepreneur Ari Horie is cracking the code of entrepreneurship, enabling women to ride the new waves of the Internet economy, and set sail into uncharted territory.

As always, we hope you enjoy the read, and we encourage your feedback.